Tuesday 1 June 2010

A potager update

It's been a while. In contrast to last year when just about everything that I sowed or planted was successful, the failure of this year's early indoor sowing efforts (I blame the seed compost which is different from the one that I used last year) along with the destructive early May weather left me thoroughly dispirited. Consequently, I have had to resort to buying tomato and chilli pepper plants and to resowing the gherkins, sweetcorn and French beans. So anyway, I did a quick reconciliation of developing progress in the potager and elsewhere today and this is how things stand;Bottom section (top of photo) from left to right;
- parsnip seedlings (germination successful - hurrah!)
- Charlotte and Rocket potatoes doing well
- peas (now started climbing up the sticks- come on boys!)
- a mix of shallots and onions
- a couple of savoy cabbages - more cabbage plants will be added to that row shortly if I don't decide to sow some greens instead
- a couple of aubergine plants (last year's two plants provided more than enough fruit)
- two rows of various tomatoes, capsicum and chilli peppers

Top section (bottom of photo) from left to right
- baby sweetcorn (I'm going to stick something else in alongside them but don't know what yet!)
- a few oak leaf lettuce plants and some round carrots to fill up the row
- half a dozen celery plants (doing great!) with coriander in the rest of the row
- nearly two rows of beetroot
- rocket (first sowing is just going over, second sowing is now being picked)
- Early Nantes carrots
- various mixed salad and mustard leaves starting to go over
- spinach which has done sod all - a resow is required
- French beans finally taking off
- raspberry canes

I also have a number of cornichon (gherkin) plants in pots on the terrasse which are at last taking off, some trailing winter squashes and courgette plants which are becoming established and garlic, red onion, white onion and shallots which are thriving in a patch front of the barn. All in all, I seem to have crammed a lot into a small space once again. Let's hope the produce is up to last year's standard!

On other matters, 4 new tyres for the car this morning - ouch! Off down to Foix tomorrow to get the tracking sorted - I will hopefully get in a roadie outing while I am down there. Sun and warmth are promised from tomorrow afternoon onwards - excellent!

4 comments:

PigletinFrance said...

What a lot of veggies you'll have!

I blame the early May weather, those photos you posted of the snow were just surreal!

penny said...

Looking back, that whole episode in early May was just surreal. If we had been at 200m lower altitude we wouldn't have been so badly affected as less snow would have fallen and less trees down. 300m higher altitude and less leaves on the trees so less trees down. We and everybody else between 600 and 1000m were just plain unlucky. Whole area is still affected (see latest post) but at least veggies are now doing OK!!!

PigletinFrance said...

My comment just disappeared! Where did it go?

I was saying that it must be lovely to run in unpolluted air and that your photos from May will never leave my memory (or at least not for a long time yet).

PigletinFrance said...

all those trees down! It must be lovely to have a run in such a lovely place and in fresh unpolluted air!

Your photos from May will not leave my memory for a long time yet, they were just amazing and totally unimaginable.